My Little Pony: Technology is Magic
by Winkie96
Summary: After realising that all her friends are using handphones (hoofphones) and social networking sites for entertainment, Twilight decides that she has to keep up with the latest trends too. The purple unicorn no longer wants to be branded an 'egghead' so she starts to try out modern technology. However through that, she discovered modern technology could actuallu ruin Ponyville...


_My Little Pony: Technology is Magic_

"No I win!"

"You did? Nah, I have one more!"

"Ha, Dash, I did gain three more of them! I win!"

"Ugh, I hate losing."

Twilight Sparkle was just strolling past the Ponyville park when she noticed Applejack and Rainbow Dash quarreling over something.

"Hey, what's the matter, girls?" Twilight went to them curiously and asked, before she attempted to make her own guess. Hm, they did have a party last night...

"Are you ponies quarreling about who bobbed the most apples at Pinkie Pie's party yesterday?" Twilight inquired, actually expecting a "yes" for an answer. Don't Applejack and Rainbow Dash always have friendly squabbles over minor things?

Twilight was surprised when the two ponies turned to look at her with a bewildered look on their faces.

Rainbow Dash spoke up, "We wasn't debating over that thing! You are such an egghead, Twilight. Get out of those books and go sign up for a Twitter account."

Twilight was confused. Twitter? What on Equestria is that?

At that moment a bird flew past, making a "Tweet, tweet" sound.

Twilight laughed, "So you all are competing to see which pony can make the most chirping sounds?"

Immediately Rainbow let out a sharp screech of laughter. Applejack just gave Twilight an uneasy smile as she explained, "Twitter is a social networking site. We were just arguing over who has the most followers."

Followers? Twilight was still confused.

"I wouldn't want anypony to stalk me, AJ."

Applejack sighed and nodded, "Fine by ya then, I guess." Anyway, she thought, Twilight won't understand a single thing unless she go and sign up for a Twitter account herself.

"So have you figured out how to use that phone, Twilight?" Spike asked curiously as Twilight stepped into her library.

Twilight took out the hoofphone from her saddlebag and shook her head.

As she stared at her hoofphone in confusion, she mumbled. "Seriously. How the hay does I use this thing? They call it Ipony, but I don't like it."

"Oh yes," She added on, "There is now a new trend in Ponyville. It's this thing called Twitter. Ha, Twitter. What a weird name, huh, Spike? Rainbow and AJ's been using it."

At that moment there was a knock on the door.

Twilight, as usual, used her horn magic to open the door.

"Aw, Pinkie!" Twilight cried out in surprise, immediately cheering up at the sight of the fun-loving pink pony.

Pinkie Pie giggled and handed Twilight a letter.

"Another party invitation? Wow, you sure are the ultimate party pony!" Twilight commented as she read the contents of the letter.

Pinkie nodded and added, "Want another letter?"

"Huh?"

Pinkie took out a cutout of the letter "A" from her bag.

Twilight smiled. Pinkie Pie always has lots of jokes on her hooves, and words with two meaning are often the subject of the jokes.

"Say, Pinkie. You must be tired. Running around sending party invitations like this," Twilight abruptly realised then.

All those running around must be really exhausting.

Pinkie Pie shook her head and replied, "Nope, not at all! With the help of Facebook, RSVPs were sent out in a jiffy! Wait, that rhymes! Ps and Fys!"

Huh, Facebook? Twilight was confused again but before she could even ask Pinkie to elaborate, she had already hopped off.

"GOT IT!" All of a sudden, there was a delighted shout from Spike. It was only then when Twilight realised that Spike had been fingering with her Ipony while she was talking to Pinkie.

"Spike, you..." Twilight was about to give Spike a lecture for touching her stuff, but then she noticed the flashing light from the phone.

"Ohhhh my Celestiaaaa!" Twilight cried out in excitement.

The phone! It was finally working!

Twilight snatched the phone from Spike and held it floating at her eye-level with her horn magic.

"This had better work out. After all, I spent almost a thousand Bits on it," The purple unicorn mumbled.

Moments later...

"SNAP!"

There came the familiar camera sound again as Twilight took yet another photo of Spike (who was striking a "manly" pose) with her hoofphone.

She then went to the photos gallery to check out the photos she had taken.

The photos were all of high quality-striking and crystal clear.

"This is so super duper cool! I never know this could produce such beautiful photos!" Twilight exclaimed in amazement.

It was then when a sudden idea occurred to her.

Doesn't Rarity always make those magnificent, pretty dresses? It would be pony-perfect if she could capture a photo or two of these dazzling pieces of art.

Excited, she bolted to Rarity's house.

Rarity was slightly taken aback when she heard Twilight's request.

"I didn't know you had started using that fantastic new hoofphone Ipony too. I thought you would never need those type of stuff what's with you occupied with these books all day," The unicorn commented as she made another stilt into her new dress.

Twilight shrugged and replied, "Just thought it would be fun to try it out since everypony is obsessed with it now. But it would be awesome if you can read books on the hoofphone too."

Rarity's eyes widened as she cried out, "Well of course you can read books on your hoofphone Twilight! Didn't you know? Just download the app 'Ibooks' and you can purchase books to read...right on your phone's screen! I bought some fashion books to read, and I heard Rainbow Dash bought the whole set of Daring Do's adventure series too."

Twilight was surprised. She never could have thought that she could actually read on the hoofphone. And that must be really the reason why the number of ponies visiting her library had decreased significantly, Twilight realised with a start.

At that point Rarity cleared her throat and told Twilight, "Anyway darling, since you are now officially using the hoofphone, do check out my own personal fashion designer website at .com. I use it to promote the dresses I make and ponies order dresses from me online here too! Cool huh?"

Twilight was awed by the wonders of modern technology.

As Rarity's got some free time on hoof, she kindly taught Twilight on how to use the Internet and even created a Twitter account for Twilight.

"So this is what all the fuss is about," Twilight realised as she began exploring around Twitter.

Rarity led Twilight to different ponies' profile page on Twitter.

She guided Twilight, "Bet you know those ponies? Just tap the 'Follow' icon and you can keep track of their Tweets and their Twitter activity."

Twilight curiously typed her friends' names into the search bar. She began with Rainbow Dash first and gasped in surprise when she was taken to the pegasus' Twitter page.

Rainbow Dash had a photo of herself sitting on a cloud as her DP while the description wrote, "Just 20% cooler."

The blue pegasus has 562 followers on Twitter and often she tweeted stuff like, "Retweet if you think I am the most awesome flyer in Equestria" and "Retweet if you love my Sonic Rainboom". There were usually around 200 retweets.

Besides that, Rainbow Dash would occasionally tweet her idol, the Wonderbolts.

" thewonderboltsofficial How did you all pull such an amazing stunt yesterday?"

" thewonderboltsofficial Where do I buy that exclusive Wonderbolts poster?"

" thewonderboltsoffical Please reply to my tweets. It would mean so much to me! I followed, so follow back too!"

Twilight sighed as she read the tweets.

"Just sooo Rainbow Dash," She commented.

She then went to Applejack's Twitter.

The workhorse has 564 followers on Twitter, just winning Rainbow Dash by a margin.

"So the more followers the better? Now I finally understand what Rainbow and AJ were quarreling about yesterday."

Applejack's Tweets were mainly about tips on how to maintain a farm and tips on applebucking. She would frequently update about the recent happenings on Sweet Apple Acres too. Even her cover picture was a photo of Sweet Apple Acres.

Applejack would often tweet to her four other friends-Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash as well. And of course her sister Applebloom and her brother Big Mcintosh.

Twilight noticed a tweet Applejack sent to Applebloom...

" applebloomthecrusader Take that two barrels of apples over to me now. I am just resting on that tree to the right of you."

" thatfarmerapplejack I'm too lazy to walk over. And they are so heavy! Ask bigmac. #toolazytomove."Applebloom had replied.

Big Mcintosh answered to that promptly: " thatfarmerapplejack Eee...nope. I am busy now."

Applejack finally relented: " applebloomthecrusader bigmac Fine, I will go take those myself. #whatlazyponies."

Twilight was bewildered. Why were Applejack and her siblings tweeting each other when they are only a few steps away from one another? Can't they just directly talk face-to-face instead of through typing?

This is so weird.

Nevertheless, Twilight still "followed" her friends.

Afterwards, Rarity taught Twilight on how to use Facebook and also created a Facebook account for the purple unicorn.

Twilight was most surprised to realise that Princess Celestia has her own Facebook.

The Princess often wrote on her Facebook regarding the latest happenings in Equestria and updates on upcoming events such as the "Running of the Leaves" were been posted to her profile too.

The Princess's most recent Facebook post was "Hi everyone! Nightmare Night is coming! Wooo-! "Like" if you are coming to participate in the celebrations of this chilly event!"

There were 10K likes.

"You are coming to the celebrations right, darling? Then quick, "like" this post! Look, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy had just "liked" it!" Rarity urged Twilight.

Twilight was very puzzled but still, she tapped on the "Like" icon.

Rarity then continued explaining, "Now all you need to do is to add those ponies that you know as your friend. Almost everypony in Ponyville has Facebook, so you can have a glimpse on what everypony is up to from their status updates!"

Twilight doesn't understand it at all.

"So we can have an insight into everypony's life through this Facebook?" She inquired Rarity.

Rarity nodded and said, "Of course, darling. Oh yes, I always post photos of my dresses on my Facebook and lots of ponies often comment on the photos, asking me questions on my fashion sense and also praising me for the good job done."

"But can't you just go and meet up with them personally to show them your dress? And if you want to know more about a pony's life, you can arrange for a walk with he or she in the local park or something!" Twilight retorted back, strongly believing that direct contact is the best ways to build relationships, not through a virtual world.

Rarity laughed, "Darling, don't you get it? Facebook is a million times more convenient than visiting those ponies myself! Visiting those ponies one-by-one takes an immersive amount of time and energy! So why should I do that when I can actually seek the easier way out and just post the photo on Facebook? Posting it would take only seconds and everypony can see it immediately. This would save so much precious time!"

Twilight pursed her lips. Somehow Rarity does has a point there, but it just don't sound right.

Twilight was just relaxing on her bed, scrolling through her Facebook's News Feed...

-Rainbow Dash liked "Wonderbolts are Cool" page.

-Rarity shared a link: .com.

-Pinkie Pie had just obtained a high score in Angry Ponies: 286!

-Pinkie Pie had just obtained a high score in Angry Ponies: 320!

-Pinkie Pie had just obtained a high score in Angry Ponies: 326!

Twilight's eyes widened at all the other remaining posts on her News Feed.

They were all about Pinkie Pie obtaining high scores in this Facebook game called "Angry Ponies."

Apparently the pink pony had been so obsessed with the game that she had been playing non-stop since last night, Twilight observed as she scrolled through Pinkie Pie's Facebook Wall. All her posts were nothing but about the game!

Twilight was terribly curious as to what's with the game that made Pinkie Pie so hooked to it.

"Should try playing it and see what's the fuss all about," She reckoned.

Moments later, Twilight was busily launching ponies from their slingshots towards the enemy, the Parasprites, in an attempt to hit those adorable trash down and attain a high score.

"Whoa, Angry Ponies sure is fun!" She cried out as she hummed to the catchy jingle of the game.

Sure enough, the game was something hard to put down. Every part of it was choreographed flawlessly, from the beautiful animation to the intricate storyline.

Twilight was so addicted to the game that she forgot about the time...

It was only when she happened to look up when the game was loading that she noticed the time on the clock.

It was already 8pm, and she hadn't finished reading that book she lent from Princess Celestia!

"Oh no! I will never be able to finish reading "The Essence Of Magic" by today! I had planned to finish it earlier on!" The purple unicorn groaned and mumbled in disappointment.

Her eyes flickered back to the phone screen. It displayed, "Congratulations Twilight, you had unlocked a new area in Angry Ponies! Go check it out!"

Immediately Twilight understood the seriousness of the situation.

"This game! It may be fun, but it's like a drug! It will make you so hooked to it that your life will be ruined from excessively playing it!" She concluded with shock.

And Pinkie is (or maybe already was) the next victim to it!

"All the time you waste on playing it could have been put to better use, such as going out with your friends to strengthen the bonds with them!" Twilight realised with a start.

She had to put a stop to this!

As Twilight quickly exited the game, she noticed new posts on her NewsFeed.

Her eyes widened in disbelief as she read Rainbow Dash's Facebook post.

"1000 likes to this post and Applejack will have to juggle 10 apples in front of Princess Celestia! 1000th pony to like this receives a free barrel of apples from Applejack!" She read the post out loud.

And to her utmost horror, there was already 999 likes!

Twilight was shocked. How could Rainbow Dash do this to Applejack? It's so cruel beyond words, especially since that Applejack did not agree to this in the first place.

What this post could bring to Applejack would be humiliation and fear! She felt like speaking up for Applejack but...

Twilight could not resist the urge to comment on the post any longer. Even if the other ponies would laugh at her for been such a "goodly-two-shoes", she still has to do this.

For her good friend, Applejack.

Quickly she commented on the post, "Hey guys, I don't think you all should do this. It's not very nice and this may hurt somepony."

Seconds later Fluttershy replied to her comment.

Fluttershy commented back, "Come on Twilight, this is the Internet! We can do anything we want to! Anyway it is just a hilarious harmless joke! Seriously, Twilight!"

Twilight simply could not believe what she was reading.

Fluttershy, representing the Element of Kindness, is approving to this type of cyber bullying against her friend? What's up with that pony's head? This is so unlike Fluttershy!

To make matters worse, Fluttershy "liked" the post then and she became the 1000th pony to like it!

"How could Fluttershy do these to Applejack?" Twilight stammered, her voice trembling.

Shaking her head, Twilight, out of curiosity, went to Fluttershy's Facebook...

Fluttershy's behaviour online was totally a stark contrast from her behaviour in real life.

Her Internet behaviour was obnoxious and impolite and it was totally a far cry from Fluttershy's shy nature.

The yellow pegasus spend her time on Facebook spamming other ponies and whenever she sees something she does not like, she would hurl insults at the pony who posted it.

Twilight tried to think of a reason behind this.

Perhaps it is because in the virtual world, Fluttershy can find it better to express herself freely as she can "hide" behind her computer screen while getting her voice out at the same time? Because on the Internet, nopony is making direct contact with her so she can finally unleash her boldness there and show others what she's made of?

But...but this is simply a wrong way to prove oneself!

Just then a new post popped up.

It was a post from Applejack. Twilight was relieved. Finally Applejack is going to speak up for herself and warn the other ponies to stop the cyber bullying.

However her heart sank when she read the post.

Applejack posted, "1000 likes to this post and Rainbow Dash will have to do a hooficure in the Day Spa under the eye of everypony! Come on, y'all, let's like this post for Rainbow Dash The Super Softie!"

There was immediately 38 likes seconds after the post appeared.

Twilight gasped.

She bit her lip firmly.

This. Has. To. Stop.

Ponyville does not even seem like Ponyville anymore.

Or at least that's what it looks like to Twilight.

All the joys and laughters in the town were gone. Scenes of ponies excitedly bonding with each other and scenes of ponies playing games with each other were all gone.

Replaced by it, were scenes of ponies playing on their dull gadgets with blank looks on their faces and also scenes of emotionless exchanges between one pony and the other.

Everypony were occupied by their hoofphones and computers, no longer paying attention to their family or friends. The streams of love and care that once flowed through Ponyville were all dried up, and the only thing that would fuel up the ponies' hearts were the satisfactions they could get from modern technology alone.

Ponyville was now like an empty shell, no longer embroidered with happiness and laughter.

Immediately Twilight's mind conjured up a song...

(Sing to "This Day Aria")

"I couldn't care less about my friends

I won't partake in any chats

Phones, well I'll be real frank when I say

That through any kind of weather, I just want to be on my phone,

The truth is I don't care for my friends at all-"

The purple unicorn shook her head.

No. This can't go on.

What Ponyville needs is happiness and laughter, something which could only be spread by...

"Pinkie Pie? You in there?" Twilight knocked hastily on the door of Sugarcube Corner and called out.

There was the dragging of hooves as the door was unlatched.

Twilight was met by a messy-mane, pale-faced Pinkie Pie, whose got her eyes on nowhere but her phone.

Pinkie Pie was mumbling incoherently under her breath, "Must...pass this...st-stage..."

Twilight was taken aback, but at that moment, she caught a whiff of burning smell from the kitchen.

Immediately alert, Twilight dashed to the kitchen hurriedly.

The cupcakes were burning in the oven, apparently overcooked.

As Twilight showed Pinkie Pie the tray of charred cupcakes, the pink pony let out a horrified scream.

"My CUPCAKES! I put in all my time and effort to bake them but now they look terrible! All those delicious ingredients going down the drain!" Pinkie Pie shrieked in aghast.

With that she began singing in a dull tone...

(Sing to "Cupcakes")

"Cupcakes, now just so messy, Cupcakes, now so burnt and horrid, Cupcakes, Cupcakes, Cupcakes, CUPCAKES!"

The sudden rise in Pinkie's voice at the end startled Twilight.

"Anyway, if you would excuse me, I need to pass that new area I unlocked in "Angry Ponies"," Pinkie Pie abruptly added on before Twilight could say anything else.

And then Twilight could only stare at Pinkie Pie, dumbfounded as she watched the pink pony switched her gaze back to that horrifically addictive game.

To Pinkie Pie, it seems that nothing else in the world (not even cupcakes) could beat playing a lovely game of Angry Ponies.

Twilight could only feel resign.

As Twilight walked on, her mind desperately tried to rack up a solution.

She was still deep in thoughts when suddenly she heard whimpering coming from behind her.

"Huh, who's crying?" She wondered as she turned to see Applejack lying against a tree, sobbing.

Twilight quickly rushed over to her.

"You alright, AJ?" She questioned, concerned. The workhorse's eyes were red and puffy.

Applejack shook her head and snapped at Twilight, "Can't ya see I am in the dumps?"

Twilight knew the reason behind that, of course.

"You don't have to really do what that Facebook post says, AJ. It is meant to upset you. You don't have to take what's mentioned there to heart," Twilight comforted.

Applejack looked up in despair and cried out, "You heard too? Great, I bet everypony in Ponyville knows about it as well! Now I will have to juggle apples in front of..."

Applejack gulped and continued in horror, "Princess Celestia..."

Twilight smiled uneasily and said, "You don't have to, AJ."

Applejack slumped to the ground, depressed.

She explained, "You don't understand, sugarcube. That post did receive a thousand likes. If I don't abide to what was stated there, it would seem like I am unwilling to admit the truth and...That would not be very honest."

Twilight was at a loss now. She knows Applejack takes the subject of honesty very seriously.

Applejack added on then, "And although I did pay back my "revenge" on Rainbow, I ain't feeling the least bit good about it."

Twilight sighed heavily.

What to do, what to do?

The rest of Twilight's friends aren't any better.

They were all suffering under the predicament of modern technology, Twilight observed.

Rainbow Dash was flying away desperately under the laughters of a huge crowd of ponies.

"So Rainbow? There's a thousand likes already!"

"Going to do your hooficure? Come on, it's not like it's the most embarrassing thing in the world!"

"I prepared my camera!"

Rainbow Dash glared at the ponies and roared, "I will NEVER go for that! Now SHOO before I totally lose it!"

The ponies continued with the jeering.

"Oh no," Twilight gasped as she watched Rainbow Dash create a tornado and suck all the bullies into it.

Meanwhile, Rarity was stomping back and forth in the boutique, fuming.

When Twilight queried on what happened, Rarity hissed ferociously, "Some sort of evil pony hacked into my fashion website! Oh goodness gracious me, that villain uploaded photos of me in my most disgraceful self onto the website, don't you know that? I WILL MAKE SURE THAT PONY SUFFERS THE CONSEQUENCES OF DOING THAT TO MISS FAIR RARITY!"

Whilst Fluttershy was telling Twilight in her timid voice, "I just don't understand why other ponies are avoiding me when I approach them. Do you know why, Twilight?"

Twilight scoffed and replied, "You really don't know how hurtful those words you say on the Internet are, Fluttershy?"

Fluttershy frowned.

"Well, I did think it is the Internet and I can say anything I want to in there..." Fluttershy explained softly.

When she heard that Applejack was upset from that Facebook post, Fluttershy was stunned.

"Oh no...it is all my fault..." She cried out in guilt.

Twilight sighed again.

"No point blaming yourself, Fluttershy. Now we have got to find a solution," She concluded firmly.

That idea just occurred to Twilight out of nowhere.

It just simply appeared in her brain, and she actually wasn't so sure if it would work out right.

I should give it a try anyway, Twilight thought, since technology is the root to this problem, then it would be the root to the solution as well.

The next morning, when the ponies in Ponyville login to Facebook and Twitter, they noticed a message written by Twilight on their News Feed...

"To all ponies of Ponyville:

I would like to present to you all a simple question. Which ponies in Ponyville are your friends? I am sure you will have lots of ponies' names and faces appearing in your mind at that. And also lots of sweet memories too. Friends are ponies you like to spend time together with. But when was the last time you and your friends have a nice and friendly chat? When was the last time you and your friends have fun together? Perhaps you may not even remember when, but I am sure you can remember the last time you login to Facebook/Twitter.

Yes, everypony here is spending too much time on their phones. I am perfectly sure nopony here would want to have a phone as a friend, but looks like that is going to happen soon if we don't realise our mistakes now. Facebook/Twitter are just virtual worlds, they are nothing compared to real life. Which would warm the heart more- an SMS from your friend or a casual, face-to-face meet-up with your friend? I am sure you all know the answer. Nothing is sweeter than having a loyal friend right by your side physically, caring for your wellbeing. But we are choosing to spend our time playing with our hoofphones, neglecting our friends thus. The phone screen is like a barrier, separating you and your friends, diminishing friendships...

I cannot deny the conveniences modern technology brings us, but it is only a emotionless tool. In fact, there are always both sides to a coin. Because of the ignorance and negligence of some ponies while on the net, their actions had ultimately hurt the hearts of others, hereby causing chaos and dispute in what was once peaceful Ponyville. Thus I sincerely hope that if your action on the net had upset someone, do take the necessary actions to minimise the damage done.

Thank you everypony for taking up your time to read this, but I believe these few minutes you took would go a long way. Switch off your phone now, go out there and start socialising with your peers. A simple smile, a simple hug could mean so much to them. Together let's transform Ponyville back into how it was used to be like. Cut down the times you spend on your gadgets, and let's welcome the harmonious and joyful Ponyville back!

Your friend, Twilight Sparkle"

There were 20K likes for the message Twilight posted.

Twilight smiled and mumbled, "I hope everypony will finally understand that no matter how sophisticated technology may be, friendship always wins!"

The effects of Twilight's message were beginning to show.

Rainbow Dash and Applejack deleted the childish Facebook posts they wrote, and Fluttershy gave out official apology letters for her mistakes to everypony in town.

Pinkie Pie stopped playing "Angry Ponies" altogether and chose to focus on her cupcake baking. Rarity closed down her website and chose to promote her dresses through pasting pretty advertisements all around Ponyville instead.

And when the Mane Six met up...

"Uh, AJ, I am sorry for posting that type of, uh, uncool stuff on Facebook," Rainbow Dash apologised to Applejack sheepishly.

Applejack shrugged and grinned before saying, "Not a problem, sugarcube. Let's just pretend it never was posted. I shouldn't blame you actually, because I was bad enough to retaliate and that did cause you quite a lot of trouble indeed."

The two ponies ended up bro-hoofing each other friendly.

"Yay," Fluttershy cheered softly, much to the amusement of the rest.

Pinkie Pie suggested then, "I baked some delicious cupcakes just now, so want to try them?"

Rarity rolled her eyes and reminded Pinkie, "Those ponies are going to head over to my boutique first and try out my new dresses, remember?"

"No..." Rainbow Dash groaned.

As everypony was laughing heartily, Twilight abruptly remembered her checklist-she was going to sent Princess Celestia a letter today, on what she had learnt about friendship through this incident.

"Spike, pass me my hoofphone," Twilight instructed.

Holding her hoofphone in the air with her magic, Twilight began typing an SMS to Princess Celestia...

"Dear Princess Celestia..."

She was disrupted by Spike before she could type any further.

"Now isn't this ironical? Didn't you just criticised modern technology?" The dragon commented.

"Oops," Twilight realised as she blushed.

-The End-


End file.
